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For a long time I considered myself immune to caffeine’s fabled charmed. Never stopped me sleeping and I could do days on end without a cup of coffee and suffer no ill effects. Not any more. I have had no coffee today and it has made me decidedly grumpy. I don’t have a grinder in the house at the moment, so all equipment lies dormant.

I stared at the local Starbucks (cos their fresh brewed really is quite acceptable, meaning it is the only chain that peddles consumable coffee) but the queue was way too long and it was just generally too full of people and I would have needed a couple of shots just to make me human enough to face the herding masses.

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I eel your pain. Having just moved to my new digs in suburban Atlanta, and everything still in boxes, I’ve had to hit up the U.S.’s second largest chain. Man, I need to unbox and clean that grinder quick!

Personally, I embrace my addiction. There are so many wonderful espresso blends available from, what I like to think of as top tier companies, I just enjoy the experience every chance I get.

I grew up in Seattle and started making my own latte’s over 30 years ago with Stewart Brother, Henry’s Blend. I start every day with no less than two doubles. Over the years I’ve gone through five home machines. I currently have the rancilio Macchine Per Caffe’. It looks like the Audrey with Sylvia guts. I’ve had it for almost 15 years.

At work I use the last of the S-20 Rancilio two group machines. We wanted to buy the Class 8 but it took forever for them to pass NSF so we had to choose the S-20. At home I use both the commercial portafilter with an 18 gr. basket or the bottomless 21 gr. basket depending on my mood.

When I go on a vacation if I’m driving I bring my home machine and grinder to the hotel. I set it up on a power bar and have the espresso machine set to a timer that goes off at least an hour before I get up. With my filtered water in hand I can usually knock out a better 8 oz. double latte than I can get in any town.

At the same time, I’m always looking for the next big thing coffee company. I don’t believe in there being one coffee at the top of the heap. I just see all the good ones lumped together in what I call top tier coffee companies. I want to try them all, so I’m always on the hunt.

I’m 57 years old and if my heart explodes tomorrow, I’ll go out with a smile because of all the wonderful coffee’s I’ve experienced over the years. The only sadness for me would be that the coffee industry is changing so fast now, even with my best efforts to keep up, I find that everyday I know less than the day before. How cool will it be by this time next year?

These are exciting times. So embrace your addition, wear it with a robust pride.